For the beginning student of a stringed instrument, finger placement can be quite complicated. In order to aid in finger placement, this invention relies on visual representation to help these beginning students. When the student can see the exact notes or chords played, he could then adjust his playing style accordingly. Since many of these students cannot differentiate between notes through hearing, the use of visual representation is very important.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to teaching devices for musical instruments. More particularly, it relates to a teaching device for stringed instruments.
2. The Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,756 to Feldman, discloses a Guitar Instruction System. The invention consists of a set of removable labels which are to be placed on the fingerboard of the guitar. These labels are deposed with the corresponding note indicia. In addition, a bracket for supporting sheet music or musical exercises is mounted to the neck of the guitar. A mirror, provided with the system, allows the user to look at both the sheet music and fretboard of the instrument without moving their head. Both the removable labels and the sheet music are written in reverse to facilitate using the mirror.
The patent to Hill, U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,240 discloses a Chord-Teaching Device for a Stringed Instrument. The invention consists of an elongated box with a plurality of vertical lines evenly spaced deposed on the front. Each vertical line represents a fret on the fretboard of a stringed instrument. A plurality of horizontal lines are deposed intersecting the vertical "fret" lines perpendicularly indicating the strings of the instrument, thus creating a representation of the fretboard of a stringed instrument. A plurality of holes are deposed on each of the horizontal (string) lines between each of the vertical fret lines. The user then inserts the chord card into the box. The chord card has an index for alignment with a fret row and a designation of fingers. Once inserted in the proper location, according to the alignment index, the fingering numbers and placement will be shown through the corresponding holes between the vertical (fret) and horizontal (string) lines.
The patent to R. L. Mulchi, U.S. Pat. No. 3,153,970, discloses an Aid For Stringed Instruments. The invention consists of a series of cards, each marked to indicate the correct finger positions for a certain chord. The card is placed between the strings and fretboard of the instrument and remains in position until the student situates their fingers according to the card, at which time the card is removed so that the chord can be played.
The Patent to Nance, U.S. Pat. NO. 4,712,464, discloses a Stringed Instrument Finger Positioning Guide. The invention consists of finger positioning guide for a flat surface positionable between the neck and strings of a stringed instrument. The guide is deposed with sets of uniformly colored spots. Each set of colored spots on the guide represent the fingering and strings for a particular chord. The guide also has an edge limiting device connected to the flat surface to facilitate the positioning of the guide and further to indicate the chords on the card. In another embodiment of the invention the edge limiting element may include a clamp shape for clamping the guide to the neck.